Paper Angels
by MidnightWritings
Summary: Life, liberty, and the pursuit of kick-a tattoos and piercings are all she knows. He'll show her that even a surgical nightmare can help a not-so distressing damsel. Kakuzu/Konan
1. Chapter 1

Paper Angels Ch 1

**A request from Kakuzu's Angel Konan. I've been throwing around this idea forever and I just had to get it down on paper. Yes, incase you're wondering I do take requests, whether it's for a oneshot or a series, I'll take it into consideration and try to do it. :D Keep 'em coming.**

**Told from Konan's POV**

There are few things I find more comforting than the regular sights and sounds of the Akatsuki Tattoo Parlor. Especially on a day like today.

I trudge silently inside, the bell ringing annoyingly as rain escapes into the warm, dry main room. I'm the second one here. I can see Pein's car out front.

Me?

I don't have a car. I just went through a really bad breakup and he took the car while he ran. He's a jerk and even more-so a criminal on the run. I walk places. Good exercise and I get to see more things.

But not today.

Today it's pouring rain and there's a huge thunderstorm passing through. Did I mention that it's not even nine in the morning?

All of these things are ingredients for a bad day cocktail.

"Good morning Konan," Pein says glancing up from the front desk. I nod politely at my boss and delicately wring my hair out in the sink at the nearest piercing station. Glancing in the mirror, I appraise my appearance and almost smile.

My blue hair (Yes, I really dyed it blue) is back in its usual bun with the paper flower I made on the left side of my head. My tiny silver lip piercing twirls when I play with it using my tongue. My eyes are almost permanently half-lidded, giving me a bored expression most of the time. I look pretty decent, as usual.

I'm not vain enough to say that I'm beautiful nor am I emo enough to cry myself to sleep every night because I think I'm ugly. I'm average, just like every other Japanese girl with blue hair.

Ha-ha, that was a joke. Yeah, I know you guys didn't laugh. I'm not really a funny person. Not really that hard to tell, huh? I sit down at my station and look at my planner, seeing that my first thing this morning is a tongue piercing. Great.

I hate tongue piercings. It's usual a guy and they always try to hit on me. I had one guy's tongue I pretty much ripped it up because he kept flexing whenever I tried to pierce it. That was not a pleasant day.

I sit down at my desk and start getting things ready as I prepare myself for the screams.

God I love my job.

…line…line…line…line…

The guy turns out to be some sixteen year old punk, probably doing this on a dare.

"Name?" Pein says looking down at the clipboard.

"Uchiha Sasuke." He says dully, not really caring.

"Oh, Itachi's younger brother." He says and the boy nods. "He's taking the day off isn't he?"

"Which is why I came today," He says coming over to my station and sitting down.

"You're late," I hear Pein say as the door opens and Hidan stomps in.

"F*ck you," He says and throws his coat at the coat rack before going to his station. Hidan and Kakuzu are our tattoo artists that anyone can book, but Kakuzu is picky about who he takes. Sasori and Deidara take their regulars and some more famous people. Zetsu and I are piercing artists. Tobi's the janitor and Kisame cleans up after Tobi 'cleans up.' Itachi's our legal expert to make sure that everything is okay and we don't get sued. Pein owns the place and occasionally does the odd piercing job if we're busy.

"I woke up late because the old fart turned my alarm off." He says glaring as Kakuzu walks in.

"You act like it's my fault that you have a shrill alarm," The stitched man says slipping his hands into his pockets nonchalantly. He was in a couple of really bad car accidents when he was a kid so he has scars that look like stitches. It's not funny but he kind of looks the Joker from Batman. "That goes off at an insanely early hour," He adds with a slight glare.

"Three in the morning isn't that f*cking early! That's when I worship!" He says and the two start bickering like brothers.

"Do they do that a lot?" Sasuke asks not really sounding like he cares that much.

"All the time," I say sanitizing the needle I'm going to use to pierce his tongue.

"…Do you do this a lot?"

"Uh-huh," I say dully. "Stick your tongue out and don't move or I will cut it up." He does so and I get out the little black bead he wanted. "This won't hurt too much." He nods slightly as I easily pierce his tongue and put the back on underneath it. "Done,"

"Cool," He says looking in the hand mirror I'm holding out to him.

"Yeah, now don't eat or drink for three hours so your tongue can heal around the new piercing. If it starts to hurt it should pass but if you can't handle it take two aspirin but nothing more. If it swells go to the emergency room because you're probably having an allergic reaction to the metal I used."

"Got it," He says giving me the mirror back.

"Come again," I say when Pein gives me a look that says 'do what I told you to.' He nods dully and walks out of the shop after paying my boss. I sigh and rub my forehead, sinking down into my desk chair and putting my hands on my desk in slight frustration.

This is a dead end job that has little to offer me.

"Good morning!" Tobi yells as he bounces inside the tattoo parlor with a family pack of coffee. There are a couple grunts of acknowledgement but nobody really says anything. He doesn't care of course.

Okay…I (kind of) lied.

I really like my job. Tobi's sweet; he brings coffee in every morning, knowing all of our favorites. He skips to everyone's desk, setting down their coffee cups from some brand-name coffee company.

"Good morning, Konan-san," Tobi, I'm sure, is beaming behind that mask he wears.

"Good morning," I say politely, going back to my work. I have some big-shot coming in and he wants multiple piercings.

…line…line…line…line…

"Hey, Kakuzu," I look up at the sound of the tattoo artist's name and see Kisame ducking through the doorway. "Picked you up a little something."

"Daddy!" I almost smile seeing Tsuki on his giant shoulders. The three year-old often stops at the parlor. Kakuzu's wife, Kumori, is dead from a drunken driving accident. She left the six month-old with the widower. Now, while he's at work, Tsuki is at daycare but more often than not she's with us.

Kakuzu laughs and stands up from the tattoo he's tracing out for a customer. The little girl wiggles in Kisame's arms as he puts her on the floor.

"Hey princess," He says with a small smile as he picks her up. She giggles as she pulls her Hello Kitty back pack in front of her, fishing a piece of paper out of it.

"Made you a picture Daddy!" She says holding it out to him. From my spot at my desk, I can see that it's a picture of him…I think. She hasn't inherited her father's artistic abilities yet so far. He takes it, making the appropriate awed noises.

"That's very good," He says and pins it up on his cork board.

"Really? 'Cause I made one for here too!" It still amazes me how she can talk better than someone twice her age.

"Go show Uncle Pein," He says setting her back down as he smiles a little.

"Hey there you naughty little f*cker!" Hidan says picking the girl up and throwing her into the air.

"Uncle Hidan!" She squeals, screaming when he pretends to drop her.

"Don't swear around my daughter, Hidan," Kakuzu growls and Hidan flips him off behind his daughter's back. I smile a little and turn back to my desk, but not before I see Kakuzu staring at me.


	2. Chapter 2

Paper Angel Ch 2

**^^ How did you guys like the first chapter of Paper Angels? I, personally, love writing it as much as you guys seem to love reading it! You guys are the best readers and I have big plans for this story~ *evil grin***

**Nisroc: WOO! FIRST REVIEW FOR THIS STORY! Very few Kakuzu/Konan stories, huh? **

**Thanks to Kismahaz for the alert, mudbloodkiller for the favorite, Nisroc for the alert and favorite, and CookieSuechtigesEtwas for the favorite!**

_Kakuzu's Dream POV_

I'm back in the car. Kumori is driving. I close my eyes, trying to force myself to wake up. I know what's going to happen. I try to say something but my tongue won't comply.

"You know, Kuzu," She says reaching over to squeeze my hand. "I talked to Pron Boss. He says we can take that cruise vacation we were talking about,"

"That sounds amazing," I hear myself say even though I want to scream at her to stop driving. She never drives. She shouldn't be driving. She shouldn't be dead. "I found a travel agent that can get us a suit with a crib for a good deal,"

"I love you so much," She says with a smile that lights up her face as she looks in the rearview mirror, obviously checking on Tsuki. That's when I see the headlights coming towards us.

"Kumori!" I bellow, trying to save her by grabbing the steering wheel. I try to yank it to the side, but it's too late. The car hits us head on and both airbags deploy immediately.

My head spins and the next thing I hear is the wail of the ambulance and my daughter crying. I turn my head painfully and see her out of her car seat, bleeding in a few places.

"Tsuki," I say and grimace as I start dragging myself over to her. It hurts, but hearing her cry hurts more. "Tsuki," She looks up at me, tears still in her eyes as I kneel over her. "It's okay, princess, Daddy's here," She smiles a little and stops crying as I wipe the blood away from her forehead.

_Dream End_

I bolt upright, panting hard. Tsuki is asleep in bed next to me. Guess she crawled in because of the storm…

I sigh and put my fists over my eyes, putting my elbows on my knees. I hate having this dream so much, usually it's only once a week. But now it's been happening a lot more than that. Tsuki stirs next to me and I hold my breath. It's three in the morning, she'll never go back to sleep if she wakes up now. She lets out a deep breath and goes back to sleep.

"Thank God," I say letting out a slow breath. I get out of bed and go to start a pot of coffee. I'm actually really surprised Hidan isn't up yet. Stupid a$$ got kicked out of his ex-girlfriend's because he cheated on her and he had no back up plan. So he moved in with me. Because I totally love having his company here.

Sighing, I gulp down the black, too-hot coffee, relishing the burn and horrid taste it brings. For some reason, the misery it causes is slightly soothing. I put my fist to my forehead and tap it a few times.

"I really wish you were here Kumori-chan." I say looking over at her picture before downing another too-hot, too-bitter gulp. It hurts so good…

…line…line…line…line…

_Konan's POV_

My alarm goes off and I reach over, slapping the snooze button a little harder than I meant to. The bone in my hand groan quietly as I pull my hand back, cradling it against my chest.

"Good way to start off the morning," I grumble as my hairless cat, Itami, jumps up on my bed and purrs in my face. Stupid freaky bald thing. I shove him away and get up to get ready for work. He does figure eights between my legs as I walk into the bathroom to shower, climbing in with me even.

"Stupid cat," I say when I stomp on him accidentally. He doesn't seem to care, he just loves the attention. It's almost scary how much he reminds me of Tobi. He purrs and gently scratches my leg with his de-clawed front paws. Best thing I ever did to the little b*stard.

I sigh and shove him away as I walk to the coffee machine and take a sip of black coffee to wake myself up a little. It works and my eyes go wide with the sudden caffeine jolt.

"Hoo…" I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding and sigh. _I wonder what Kakuzu's doing right now…_

"What the hell?!" I say aloud, not really knowing where that came from. He's just a friend, not even that. I frown to myself as two eggs find themselves in my hot frying pan as I start to think about that. Sure he's attractive but he's not really date material. Hidan or even Itachi…That's more someone you could be seen with. Kakuzu and Hidan…eh… They're nice, I guess.

"On top of that, Kakuzu's a dad," I mumble flipping the eggs over and poking at the yolks half-heartedly, too lazy to break them but still wanting them split.

_You're not exactly a virgin either sweetie._ The little voice says inside my head and I glare at it mentally. _And you're not getting any younger… You're already twenty-four!_ That was a low blow. I'm kind of sensitive about my age. Don't ask why, it's just my thing.

Sighing, I flop one of the eggs onto the ground for Itami and sit down at the table with the other one and a glass of orange juice. Frowning a little, I start to wonder why I'm not hungry. Usually I'm starving in the morning but not today. Must be an omen. I shrug that off, not believing in bad luck.

"Bye Itami," I say throwing my dishes in the sink as the stupid cat sits down, just discovering the egg I'd thrown on the ground. He purrs while he eats it. "Stupid b*stard," I add so I don't sound too mushy as I walk out the door of my apartment. I pause outside of my front porch, seeing the snow falling.

"Oh," The word comes out as a puff of white breath, floating up to the heavens as I walk. It's colder than I thought it would be and I wish for a heavier jacket but it's just fifteen minutes to the tattoo parlor. I'll survive. It's not that cold anyway.

Pein's car is in the parking lot when I get there. Does he sleep here or something?! I mean, I think he has a house… He's my boss; I don't really pry into his personal life and he doesn't pry into mine.

"Good morning, Konan," He says neutrally like he does every morning. I nod like I do every morning as well, easily slipping into my usual routine.

"Good morning!" Tobi shouts when he walks in with our coffees. He's too much of a morning person for my tastes.

"Hey Boss-b*stard!" Hidan says when he walks in like he owns the place. I love Hidan, I swear, but I just want to kill him. Really badly. Like, right now. He's an idiot when it comes to everything and I bet you anything he can't see the annoyance on Pein's face as he looks up from the sketch he's doing.

"What is it, Hidan?" He asks with a slight eye twitch. From my spot, I can see a pencil mark where he messed up because Hidan surprised him.

"We should have a party." He plants his hands on his hips as Kakuzu walks in sipping his coffee with Tsuki on his shoulder, drinking a tiny hot chocolate. She looks like the mirror image of him, without the scars. She has black hair and his piercing green eyes, without the blood shot-ness. She's going to break a lot of hearts some day.

"Why is that, Hidan?" He sounds annoyed.

"Because Tsuki's fourth birthday is coming up!"

"Ooo~ Tobi can do decorations!"

"I can get a cake, yeah," Deidara grins taintedly. "It'll be a bang!" Even Itachi looks like he'd be amused by a four year-old birthday party in a tattoo parlor.

"We could give out tattoos as party favors!" Hidan looks excited by that.

"Fake ones, of course," Pein's eye twitches even harder when the white-haired Jashinist looks at him and says a particularly bad word that has Kakuzu glaring and covering his daughter's ears.

So it was decided.

The Akatsuki Tattoo Parlor is going to host a birthday party.

_Oh God what have we gotten ourselves into?_ I think putting my head against the table.


	3. Chapter 3

Paper Angels Ch 3

**Yep…still nothing to say… I really need some customers and tattoo designs for the chapters so if you have an idea (or seven) it'd be awesome if you let me borrow it!**

**Smile-chan: (If I can call you that) I just thought their lives were way too calm at the moment. XD Thanks a ton~ I kinda had to put that in and I've never seen a hairless cat in person either. Hence, Itami was born.**

**Nisroc: ^^' Kakuzu's twitching right now. He doesn't do hugs. Hopefully I won't disappoint you!**

I don't know what's wrong with me but there's a little paper hat on my head and there are streamers everywhere. And I'm smiling. There are six four year-old girls running around giggling like its Christmas and I have the seventh sitting on my chair as I give her an eyebrow piercing. Fake, of course. The moms know but that dads don't. And the dads are the ones picking up.

Oh the fun that is to ensue.

"Who wants cake, b-girls?" Hidan asks coming out with a huge Hello Kitty shaped cake. Vanilla cake with vanilla icing colored to look like her bow, eyes, and dress. Tsuki's eyes get huge and she squeals, jumping up and down while clapping.

"Daddy it's so pretty!" She squeals while the other girls scuttle over and aww over it.

"Thank Auntie Konan, she made it," He says. He's smiling too and it's obvious he's loving the look on her face. She runs over and wraps her thin arms around my neck.

"Thank you so much, Auntie Konan!" She whispers into my ear. I smile a little and pat her on the back.

"Anything to make your birthday the best, Tsuki," I say hesitantly hugging her back. I don't do hugs, honestly. Only for Tsuki. She's like a daughter to me. All of us love her and would do anything for her.

"Come blow out the candles, Tsuki-chan, yeah!" Deidara calls from the cake as he takes Hidan's lighter out of his pocket.

"You motherf*cker! I've been looking for that all day! You're dead b*tch!" Needless to say, Hidan has a good long timeout in the corner and doesn't get cake.

"If any of you say the 'f' word or the 'b' word in my presence I will personally put you over my knee and paddle your behinds," Pein says firmly as Kakuzu gets the candles to sit back up on the cake, the cardboard sagging under the weight of the sweet as Deidara plays with the lighter.

"C'mon kiddies!" He says with a gleeful smile as he lights the candles. His eyes sparkle, almost a child-like look in his eyes, as he watches the children sing, his lips moving but no words are coming out. I join in quietly, knowing that my croaky frog's singing voice wouldn't add much joy to Tsuki's birthday. Tattoos might be Deidara's line of work but that doesn't mean that it covers up his first love.

Explosions.

I knew Deidara-actually, I've known most of the Akatsuki Tattoo parlor staff since we were in high school. Deidara's hasn't changed at all. He was a year under Pein and me, so he came to us as soon as he could. Little pyro couldn't wait to get his hands on something, anything, that he could use to make explosions. He makes the best ink bombs I have ever seen.

Sasori has the station next to him and the two of them bicker over whether art should last forever (like the puppets Sasori adores) or the bombs Deidara makes in his spare time. The red-head looks like he should be in grade school, but he's older than Deidara. It's taken him forever to get used to Deidara constantly calling him "Danna" but he got over it and calls him "brat" in return. He does every tattoo painstakingly well and carefully. It might take twice as long as one of Deidara's but the effort shows. Sure, they're both amazing tattoo artists, but Sasori's effort shows a little more. Right now the red-headed child is visiting his grandmother in Suna, which came as a surprise to us all, seeing as he hates the old woman.

Hidan's still in the timeout corner, shooting glares over his shoulder occasionally but not doing anything more than that. He's all talk unless you get him on the subject of his religion. It was shocking to all of us that he didn't become a priest. He harps on Jashin-sama any chance he gets, convinced we're all heathens and going to hell because we won't switch to his bloody, masochistic religion. He seriously comes into work and cuts himself.

F*cker won't die either. We've tried. Many times.

Kisame, who is making sure Deidara doesn't go too crazy with the candle lighting, isn't too different either. I don't know what he does or why we've hired him but he's really good at keeping Tobi in line. He has this thing for marine animals, having gills tattooed on his cheekbones, but he's pasty too. He doesn't tan, he doesn't burn. He's just a pasty blue-grey all of the time. I love him to pieces, he takes care of me like an older brother would, but he's a little weird looking.

Speaking of Tobi, as soon as the candles are blown out, he bounces around and picks up pieces, serving the birthday girl first before her friends. He…He's a weird one. Tobi isn't exactly right in the head, I think most of the time. He's a sweetie and gives pretty good hugs but he seems a little bit out there. He acts like he's five most of the time. Itachi claims they're very distant cousins.

Itachi, speak of the devil, is a little bit away from the party. He and Zetsu are hanging out together, just talking. Itachi was also a year bellow Pein and me, but he acts more mature than anyone else his age. He's been through a lot, with his family getting offed at the family reunion he and Sasuke were late to because of Sasuke's bad driving when they were younger but he's always been an ice cube. He took over the family law firm when the others died, but he hasn't really put his heart into it. It's obvious he'd much rather be a tattoo artist.

Zetsu, my fellow piercing expert, is one of the ATP members I really would rather not be left alone with. He had something go wrong with him when he was a kid so now he's half black and half white. It gets him a lot of stares but his best (or worst) quirk is that he's hears voices and is bipolar. He's as sweet as can be but he often starts arguing with himself, which is weird. But I have to admit, he can pierce better than I can.

Pein, Pein, Pein. I don't really know what to say about him. He's standing behind the cake, just watching. If I were to have a best friend, I would say it is him. I'm not exactly the 'friend' type, as you might have guessed. He and I went in together on this tattoo parlor and I don't regret it. He's been there for me since we were kids and his name was Nagato. There is no romantic relationship between us; I mean we're barely friends. I respect him as an employer and he respects me as a colleague.

I find Kakuzu staring at me again and I blush lightly, looking away. I watched him fall in love with Kumori. He even proposed to her here. He wasn't exactly handsome in my eyes before she died, but the accident that killed her disfigured him even more. I'm not saying that he isn't an attractive guy, but becoming a widower hasn't exactly been becoming on him. There are scars on him everywhere but there's a ton of tattoos as well. I think he might be another one of my…friends. He's a really nice guy once you get to know him and he tattoos better than anyone I know. He's really nice-ish in a weird way and I count myself lucky to be on his better side.

But, for now, I just find myself lucky to be relishing the moment. His chair is behind his daughter's but she's sitting on his knee, feeding him cake. When I look over, her mother's eyes are closed and her father's hair is pulled back into two pig tails. She's obviously laughing as he makes a weird face. He's a good father, no matter what they say.


	4. Chapter 4

Paper Angels Ch 4

**Hasn't this been cute? Lots of Kakuzu/Konan fluff for the fans! I personally adore Tsuki, she's going to be playing a big part in bringin Kakuzu and Konan together *evil eye glint* Anywho, thanks for all the reviews!**

**Konan-Akatsuki: Hidan is a pretty cool loser, isn't he? XD Ha-ha I dunno… maybe!**

**Akatsuki Chef: Aww, really? I'm blushing! I don't usually like those kinds of stories either but I surprised myself by writing her. Zomg, really?! Aww, thank you~ I like to think it's my strong point.**

**Maiumaora: Aww *huggle* I'm sorry that you're sad she's dead~ I personally laughed when I wrote it… The party is interesting…**

**Chibi Angel of the Uchiha: Thank you and thank you so much for the tattoos! Those are kick a$$!!!**

**Nisroc: Awkward is fun for us who like awkwardness! XD I think Kuzu is hott too and Konan will agree soon! Yay for Daddy Kuzu!**

**Smile-Chan: Konan isn't exactly friendly… You ARE special! And please call me Angel or whatever version of that you want~ Hidan just doesn't, you know, die. I don't mind awesome as that word!**

**Thanks to ****Dny Schr-Mlln Shtlnd for the alert for the AUTHOR alert *omg*, thanks to Konan-Akatsuki for the favorite author and author alert and alert and favorite story *d*mn!*, thanks to Akatsuki Chef for the alert and favorite and favorite AUTHOR *zomg*, and thanks to Chibi Angel of the Uchiha for the favorite!**

"Daddy I'm tired," I look up from where I'm sweeping up party debris and see Tsuki slumping over on the table, her head on top of her stacked arms. Her hair is falling partially out of the pig tails that had probably taken Kakuzu twenty minutes to put up.

"We'll be on our way soon, princess," He says in his low, growly voice. "Daddy just has to finish up a few things, okay?"

"Yeah," She says sleepily and I push the grim over to Hidan's area of work before I sit down next to her. "Hi Auntie Konan," She says turning her head so she can look at me. There's still a small smile on her face. "Thank you for my birthday cake,"

"You're welcome, Tsuki," I say putting my hand on her small back, rubbing it. She gives a happy sigh and puts her head back down on her arms. I bite my lip before taking her hair down. She doesn't protest as I reach over and get my hair brush, gently brushing her hair back up into the pig tails that Kakuzu had so painstakingly put up that morning. He always has her hair up somehow… Probably so she doesn't look too much like her mother, who always wore her hair down.

She looks really tired so I don't hesitate when I cradle her in my arms. She doesn't protest and actually cuddles into me a little. It takes an entire two seconds for her to fall asleep.

…line…line…line…line…

[i]_Kakuzu's POV_[/i]

I look over and see Konan taking Tsuki into her arms so she can sleep better. I smile under my mask as I push the table back into the corner. Konan would really make a good mother. She may not look like it but she has a mother's nurturing instinct. It's actually kind of cute, seeing my daughter asleep with her like that.

A pang suddenly is in my chest and I ache to see my Kumori again. There were so many nights she would hold Tsuki in her arms and rock her to sleep. I look down at my work but when I look back up, I have to blink a few times. I don't know if it's because of how late it is, or because of the sake I'd had earlier but I wear, for just a second, Konan looked like Kumori.

"Kakuzu," She says quietly in that tone that I've come to almost enjoy. "She's a light sleeper. Looks like we're both going to be here for a while," I nod slowly, looking around to find that everyone has left besides us.

…line…line…line…line…

[i]_Konan's POV_[/i]

I swallow dryly, realizing I'm probably going to be stuck here for a long time. I've heard Kakuzu talking about how she goes to sleep once and if she's woken up, she won't go back to sleep. I'm probably going to be stuck here all night…with Kakuzu…

Oh my God.

I lean back in my chair gently, Tsuki resting against my chest. She sighs contently and her breath hitting my neck. Kakuzu takes a seat next to us, his hand going to her back as he rubs it gently.

"Sorry about this," He says gruffly, scratching the back of his neck. "She doesn't usually conk out like this…"

"It's alright," I hear myself say as she shifts. Both of us hold our breath. She mumbles something incoherent in her sleep before sighing and falling back into dreamland. "Tsuki is a sweetheart," He smiles slightly, behind his mask.

"She really is. I'm lucky to have her," He says brushing a stray bang out of her face.

"She's lucky to have you too," I say watching the girl and seeing how similar the two of them look. He smiles a little and pauses. "You'd be more comfortable in one of the tattoo lounge chairs, I bet," He says and I nod. He seems to hesitate briefly before picking me up with his (huge, muscled) arms wrapped around me. He carries both me and Tsuki a few feet before setting us on one of the tattooing chairs.

"Better?" He asks as Tsuki remains almost scarily motionless. I nod and he sits down next to us in his desk chair, lounging.

"You should get some sleep," We both say at the same time, chuckling a little, almost nervously.

"It's getting late," He says softly and I nod, surprised that I don't feel tired. He doesn't look tired either. "I'll go make a pot of coffee," It only takes a couple of minutes before he comes back with two steaming mugs. I take mine gingerly and we both drink. I'm slightly weirded out by the fact that he knows how I like my coffee. I also notice he's drinking his black.

"Thank you," I say, just to break the silence that's settled over us.

"You're welcome," He says in his growly tone and I realize how much I really like it. It sounds like sandpaper against gravel but deep inside of it, I can hear an almost needy lit to his tone.

"How did you know how I like my coffee?" I ask and he tenses a little.

"I know what kind of coffee everyone likes," He says after he calms back down. "So I know what to buy for the office,"

"Oh," I say tracing my finger around the rim of my coffee mug. "Thank you, regardless,"

"You're welcome, Konan," He says and I then decide that I like it when he says my name.


	5. Chapter 5

Paper Angels Ch 5

**HEEEEEEEEEEEERE'S ANGEL! XD Sorry I've been gone so long you guys, the vacation was great. We went fishing and my step grandma caught a Northern. If you don't speak fish-lingo like I did, that's a really huge fish that usually just bites through the line. Then my best friend got chased by a bass that my brother's friend pulled out of the water.**

**Enough about me, I wanna hear about you guys! If you have great vacation stories, I would love to hear them! And, I've decided on a plot! :D This will be an interesting story. Kind of a filler, sorry, but the chapters will be getting longer I promise!**

**Akatsuki Chef: YAY! I always try to make my stories better and better as I write more and more. ^^**

**invisiblehand: It makes me really happy to hear you say so. I personally can't stand many yaoi pairings and I personally think Kakuzu seems straight… I love Tsuki, she's one of my favorite OCs. **

**Konan Akatsuki: ^3^ A little fluff to make my reviewers and readers happy~ Did it?**

**Chibi Angel of the Uchiha: It really helps when I can't think up one!**

**Smile-chan: Fluff makes my world go round~! Tsuki is wuv. And yes! You are Smile-chan and I am Angel!**

**Thanks to ShadowKoragg for the favorite and invisiblehand for the favorite story, alert, and favorite author!**

_Kakuzu's POV_

"Daddy," I hear Tsuki say and I'm instantly alarmed by her tone. "Daddy I don't feel good," She sounds like she did when she road on a rollercoaster for the first time. She couldn't get up for almost an hour after and I had to carry her around. It was a kiddy one too… For God's sake, she just turned four! Tsuki threw a hissy fit until I let her ride it. Hidan went with her and was laughing the entire time.

"What hurts, Tsuki?" I ask walking into the family room, where she's laying down on the couch and watching SpongeBob, the little yellow annoyance talking about how he broke his a$$. Hidan's giggling next to her.

"Stupid f*ck," He cackles drinking a beer. I shoot him a disapproving glare as I put my hand on my daughter's pale forehead.

"Tsuki, what hurts?"

"My tummy," She says clutching it with her tiny hands. "My tummy hurts real bad, Daddy," I pick her up, carrying her like I did when she was an infant.

"Hidan," I say sharply and he looks up because of my tone. "We're going to the emergency room,"

"Got it," He says gruffly, turning off the TV and getting ready to go.

…line…line…line…line…

I don't know how many tests they run, how many nurses won't answer my questions, how long I'm there. I just know that my daughter is in pain and I can't help it.

I don't even care how much it costs. That's how worried I am. I see glimpses of my baby girl when they're taking her from room to room for all the different tests they're running on her. She's hooked up to an IV and other machines. I have no idea what they are. Hidan is pacing and swearing, drinking bad coffee. I don't know if he's more worried or if I am. I thread my fingers into my hair and put my elbows on my knees.

Nothing can happen to my little girl. She's my life.

"This is f*cked up, old man," Hidan says finally taking a seat next to me. "She's just a kid,"

"I bet if this place had a dollar every time they heard that…" We both laugh without humor.

"She's going to be okay," I say, mostly to myself. "Huh?" Hidan pushes a cheap drink to my hand. He smiles dryly and toasts me.

"Hope you're right old man," He says taking it all in one gulp.

…line…line…line…line…

_Konan's POV_

"Sorry I'm late," I say when I get to work, not really meaning it. I slept through my alarm then had to make sure that Itami ate his breakfast, stupid cat's going anorexic because of separation anxiety or something retarded like that. I'd let him die or kill him off but I like him I guess. He's a companion and all that gushy stuff.

"Hey, have you seen the Zombie Brothers?" Kisame asks when I take a seat at my desk. I shake my head and he frowns.

"Usually at least one of them is here…" He trails off, focusing on a particularly stubborn stain. "I keep telling them not to use that kind of ink, its killer on the desks,"

"I'll give him a call," I say pulling out my cute little slide phone. Not like I really have anyone to call but I have all my workmate's numbers, for reasons like this of course.

"_Kakuzu._" He sounds tired when he picks up on the second ring.

"You taking today off? Pein wants to know," I ask trying not to sound too excited. I'm talking to him on the PHONE. I never, ever do that. Ever.

"_There's something wrong with Tsuki. Hidan and I aren't going to be there for a while,_" He says in a dark tone, I can almost see the gloom could over his eyes.

"What hospital are you at?" I ask, trying not to be scared for the girl.

"_The one on thirty-fourth,_" He says and I can hear Hidan yelling in the background.

"We'll be right there,"


	6. Chapter 6

Paper Angels Ch 6

**I'm alive! I'm so sorry about the lack of updates! I gots me a boyfriend XD He's really been keeping me busy so I'm really sorry.**

**Konan-Akatsuki: *bows* Thank you!**

**Chibi Angel of the Uchiha: That really makes me smile, I try hard to keep my stories different from what most people see on this website.**

**Sarcastic Tofu: :D I'm glad you liked it~**

**Smile-chan: XD Thanks~ Please update soon! I love your stories too~**

**Thanks to Hoshigaki Kisame for the favorite!**

It's a weird feeling, knowing that you're responsible for someone's life. Especially Tsuki's. She's this amazing little girl, so strong willed and stuff, but at the same time she's a delicate little flower that could crumble under the slightest touch.

It's a really weird feeling; I don't know how Kakuzu does it. He's acting so strong in front of her but I swear I saw him crying when he went to get a soda from the vending machine. That little girl means more to him than MONEY. Money is Kakuzu's life, but he doesn't care. Right now we're all in Tsuki's room and she just was told she has cancer. She doesn't really understand that much is obvious.

"So…" She says after a couple of minutes of deep thought. "My hair's gonna fall out?"

"Yeah princess," Kakuzu says stroking his daughter's hair gently. "I'm sorry,"

"No, it's okay Daddy! Maybe it'll come back a pretty blond or something," She says brightly.

It takes a real man to cry in front of his daughter.

…line…line…line…line…

"She just doesn't get it," Kakuzu says as we sit across from each other in the bad café inside of the hospital. He's drinking weak, bad coffee and I'm drinking weak, bad tea. I take a small sip of my tea and push it away from myself, wincing when I realize the price I payed for a sip of pure crap.

"She's just a little girl, Kakuzu," I say quietly, not really able to believe that Tsuki has cancer either. "She couldn't possibly understand,"

"She's not just a little girl," He grumbles "She's my little girl." h." It was signed by Albus Dumbledore. No one took that staircase. MLIA.I hide a smile behind my hand, seeing the pout we've all seen Tsuki wearing at one time or another on the grown man's lips.

"We all love her very much," I say softly, stopping the smile as I pull my hand away. "We'll help you do whatever so that she'll get better,"

"Thank you," He says softly, looking intensely at his mug of coffee.

"Do you have any idea what we're going to do after this?" I ask motioning to my still-full tea mug. Kakuzu takes a sip of his coffee and grimaces a little at the bad taste.

"I'm not sure," He says after a moment's deliberation. I know from experience that not knowing what's going on or what's going to happen next kills him. He likes to be in control and to have a smooth routine to stick to. He needs order so he can have some kind of control. This must be really hard on him.

"Do you want to go check on Tsuki?" I offer resisiting the urge to put my hand on his. He shakes his head slightly.

"Pein's with her right now," Though it may not be noticable to most, our boss has an unmistakable soft spot for the little girl. I swear to whoever is up there that he's upset because of the cancer. Almost upset, that is. Pein does not get upset. Ever.

"Let's get you out of here," I say standing up and picking my purse up. He almost looks confused as I take his hand in mine, trying ignore the fuzzies I feel.

"Where are we going?" I can almost hear a stutter in Kakuzu's voice.

"Out, don't worry about it. It's a surprise," I say with a slightly tained smile. He blinks twice before smiling and standing up, our hands brushing slightly. He pushes both our chairs in and we depart, looking like the epitome of a happy couple.

…line…line…line…line…

"Where are we?" Kakuzu asks as we walk down the busy street near the hospital.

"Just wait," I say, not really knowing where we're going myself but not about to tell him that. I look over and he gives me a small smile, a chuckle escaping him.

"Alright," He says as we both fall into a pregnant silence. After a few minutes we find ourselves down by the river on a bridge close to the flooded water, thanks to all the rain we've gotten recently. I bend down, rolling my pant legs up before sticking my toes in the water. Kakuzu folds his legs beneath himself and sits down, smiling a little as I start to move my feet slightly, causing ripples.

"This is where you picked?" He asks quirking one eyebrow. I nod, letting my feet stop swinging.

"Yeah, seems pretty peaceful. Good spot," I nod, not really caring that none of those sentences are complete. I look over at him and see that he's started to lean in towards me…


	7. Chapter 7

Paper Angels Ch 7

**Happy**** holidays everybody! From me to you, I hope your winter holidays are amazing!**

**Smile-chan: I really think you guys are going nto like what's to come and hate it at the same time. Yep! We've been going out for just over three months 3 He's been inspiring me a lot. Sleep is amazing, but I get the horrid schedules XP Please update soon!**

**DeidaraIsGod2009: YAY! Thank you so much! :D**

**I-Luvs-Deidara-ArtIsABangUn: Thank you so much! I'm really glad you like that~ :D**

**Thanks to I-Luvs-Deidara-ArtIsABangUn for the alert and favorite, Lady Barbossa239 for the favorite story, story alert, and favorite AUTHOR (holy shit), and DeidaraIsGod2009 for the alert and favorite!**

I gulp hard when I see Kakuzu leaning towards me. Is he going to kiss me? I don't know what I'd do. I mean, that would be nice, but I just got out of a bad relationship…

_Grab!_

_Squish!_

His hand shoots out to the side of my head, grabbing something out of the air next to be and crushing whatever it was with the greatest of ease.

"!" My eyes widen slightly and he just shrugs, not seeming to care.

"Bee," He says rubbing the remains of the bee onto the dock next to us.

"Ah," I say trying to kill the disappointment I feel deep down in my tummy. Kakuzu gives me a funny look before he turns his face back out towards the water.

"Your hair looks pretty like that," He says nonchalantly and for a second I think I've misheard him but I can see him looking at me out of the corner of his eye for something to tell him I heard him.

"Thank you," I say quietly, self-conciously reaching up and touching my hair, which is up in it's usual bun but more wisps are hanging around my face than usual because I was in such a hurry. I swear to GOD that Itami is out to get me. Damn cat… Kakzuzu gives me the smallest of smiles.

"We should get back to the hospital," I find myself saying and Kakuzu's smile disappears faster than if I'd slapped him.

"Right," He says in a dull tone and I know I've messed up. Big time.

…line…line…line…line…

Hidan yawns, stretching his arms out as a slurpie cup is tilted procariously. A single drop falls out of the straw and right into a waiting Tsuki's mouth. She licks her lips, looking quite pleased as Hidan's gaze goes down, seeing her seemingly 'innocent' face. She gives him puppy dog eyes, looking at the slushie in his left hand. The prematurely greyed man's jaw tightens slightly.

"No." He says tensely. Her eyes widen a little and her bottom lip quivers. "No." She gives a quite sniffle. "N-"

"Swushie~?" She asks tilting her head to the side adorably. Hidan's shoulders tense and he ducks his head. The slushie is suddenly in Tsuki's arms, a happy look on her face. Hidan grumbles something under his breath and crosses his arms in an obvious pout on his turned head.

"Pay up," Sasori says holding out his hand as Deidara swears under his breath and pulls a twenty out of his wallet.

"You owe me, yeah," The blond says glaring at Hidan, who flips him off while Tsuki's eyes are closed.

"Who gave Tsuki a slushie?" Kakuzu says in a growly tone. His red-green eyes narrow slightly at Hidan, who's already got a pack of cigarettes in his hand.

"Smoke break," He says trying to push past Kakuzu and I. The giant next to me grabs the back of his collar and drags him out into the hall.

"You doing okay?" Kisame asks clapping a giant hand down on my shoulder. My knees buckle slightly under the weight but I nod as he gives my shoulder the gentlest of squeezes. He's trying to be comforting. My throat all but closes up.

"I'm gonna go home and take a shower," I say softly and stand up, trying to get past Kisame.

"Konan," He says quietly, his hand touching mine. "Tsuki needs you here. We need you here."

"I can't stay here," I mumble, really unable stand the smell of the hospital's disinfectant. I almost gag when I see someone being rolled by on a gurney, an IV drip attached to the person's arm. They smell of sickness. This is not a good place for me… It's just gross.

Kisame gives me a sad smile and squeezes my shoulder again. "You know what's best, Konan," I feel guilt gnawing at my insides but I nod quietly and try to smile at him but it just turns out as a grimace. He chuckles a little but all of our heads turn when beeping sounds from the machines Tsuki's hooked up to.


End file.
